Watermelon juice is read to go

[james3838]

Cut up my watermelons yesterday and sqeezed them in the straining bag until I had 4 gallons of juice. Discarded the pulp and removed 3/4 gallon of juice for topping up and yeast starter. Added 1 1/2 tsp grape tannin, 2 tsp pectic enzymes, and 3 campden tabs planning to make 3 gal and placed in the fridge in the shop. I haven't found a recipe that calls for acid blend though and I would think that i need some. Should I add any to it at this time? Getting ready to add the yeast starter after lunch and move on to the next 5 gal batch of plum.
This is my first batch of watermelon and I was amazed at the sugar level in the juice itself. Before adding anything at all, the SG was 1.045. It only took 4 lbs of sugar to get the 4 gallons of juice to 1.085.

 

[JasonH]

You should do an acid test to determine how much acid blend you need. I have never made watermelon, but .6 - .75 should be a good starting TA. I have always preferred fruit wines on the higher end (.75).

 

[djrockinsteve]

James you could have gotten some flavor from the pulp. It is a challenge separating the pulp from the juice later on but as long as you know it going in you'd be okay.

Keep it as cool as you can and ferment right away.

 

[james3838]

Steve, I thought about leaving the pulp but to be honest, when I got done squeezing everything in the bag, I took a 5 gallon bucket of watermelon down to a double grapefruit sized bag of pulp. Didn't think I would get much out of it so I tossed it. I may try leaving it in next time.
I did find the amount of acid blend needed . I guess when I wrote down the recipe initially, I skipped that line for some reason. Anyways, I added the yeast starter after lunch yesterday and it took off pretty quick even though the must was still a little cool from the fridge. I checked it this morning and it has warmed up to ~ 72* and I stirred it good. Can't wait to check it when I get home. It definitely has a watermelon smell to it, I'm just worried about it spoiling. I usually keep my primaries in a large closet in the house that will stay around 76* and hopefully it will ferment completely before she spoils. Any ideas on what else I can do to make sure it don't spoil?

 

[djrockinsteve]

Here is the link on what I did to give you some ideas. I would try to keep it cool and this may take 2 years to be good. Watermelon can be difficult.

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14058

 

[james3838]

Steve, I checked out your thread a few days ago and it looked good. How is it going, have you tried it lately?
I got home and checked my batch to find that the SG had come down from (before I added the yeast starter )- 1.090 to 1.025 just 26 hours after adding yeast. By far the fastest I have ever seen so I don't think I have to worry about spoilage now. Heck, I may have to rack tomorrow evening!
I'm working on my fpack as I type. Since I had 3/4 gallon of pulpy juice left, I'm just gonna reduce that down a ways and put in the freezer for now. My plan is to add add 1-11.5 oz container of Welches concentrate, red if I need the color and white if not. I'll add this with the fpac just for a little more body. This will be my first fpack and I can't wait to try it. The juice in the fridge had already settled out so I don't think it's gonna take long to clear this batch out.
Just took a look at a lot of recipes and decided to come up with my own mix of 'em all? Watcha think?

 

[james3838]

WOW! I have never seen a batch of wine ferment so quickly! Just Sunday afternoon, I added the yeast starter to the batch @ 1.090. I noticed when I stirred yesterday morning that there wasn't much going on. I checked it again when I got home yesterday and it was bone dry at .990. ~ 48 hours for complete fermintation sounds too quick to me but maybe it's because this was made from pure juice with no actual fruit???
I racked it to the secondary and it started to settle immediately. Should I go ahead and add the sorbate and kmeta to stabilize and rack again in 30 days, adding the fpack at the next racking?
This just all seems like it's going a little too fast compare to all the others that I have made. Now I can relate to Bud's batch.

 

[djrockinsteve]

It could be from the extra heat we are all experiencing, well except the NW.

Clear your wine and sulfite it. 1/4 teaspoon per 5 gallon carboy. After 4-6 weeks rack off of the sediment and let it age awhile. Patience Patience Patience as Tom says.

After it has aged 4-5 months add your sorbate or you can add sorbate after it has cleared before aging just remember that you added it.

Sweeten to your preference and let it sit a few weeks then bottle.

 

[james3838]

Steve, I kept the juice in the fridge to keep it from spoiling and after adding the yeast starter, I kept it in the closet at ~ 73*. I keep all my wines in the house to keep 'em cool and in the dark as much as possible, until I get my wine room built.
The process that you described above is usually the way I do all my wines. I've never tried to rush one and I like to go 5-6 months from starting a batch to bottling. I guess I'm just a little nervous with the chance of the watermelon spoiling, but I would think that I should be in the clear now that it's ~12% ABV. I'll add the campden tabs and let it settle out for a few weeks before I rack again. Thanks for the advice!

 

[djrockinsteve]

Once it's in the carboy you are fine. I used to add sorbate after aging however I may add after clearing to insure all yeasts are in contact with the sorbate and do not bud.

 

[james3838]

^^^^ that's what I was hoping to hear. I feel better now. Thanks for the advice!

 

[askins3097]

I just made some watermelon wine myself. I used the jack keller watermelon and raison recipe. The local fruit stand had seedless watermelons for 1.99 each, I couldn't pass giving it a try. One thing I did different was I didnt use any sulfites right off the start. I read while googling recipes that to prevent any spoiling at all, get everything ready and immediately pitch your yeast. Mine fermented fast as well. So far so good. When I racked it off the pulp two days ago it had a slightly bitter, dry watermelon taste. I'm hoping with some time and a little back sweetening it will become a good, cheap, chilled summer wine.